Geographical structure of total exports of goods and services in 2021 (USD thousand)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a conversation with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, during which he thanked him for his solidarity with the Ukrainian state and citizens.
“It is important that the topic of Ukraine remains one of the main ones. And such famous people help us reach out to the peoples of those states where the authorities do not support Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in his telegram channel after the end of the conversation.
Oil prices are slightly reduced in trading on Thursday after a steady rise in the previous session.
Traders are keeping an eye on the situation in China, as well as evaluating the announcement of the US Department of Energy regarding plans to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
The authorities of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, are preparing to ease quarantine restrictions in certain areas of the city, which is home to 21 million people, Bloomberg reports.
On the eve of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that the demand for oil in China in 2022 may decline for the first time since 1990 due to tough measures taken by the authorities to curb the spread of coronavirus. According to the IEA forecast, oil demand in China will decrease by 2.7% this year.
The price of November futures for Brent oil on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:20 q.m. on Thursday is $93.9 per barrel, which is $0.2 (0.21%) lower than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading on Wednesday, these contracts rose by $0.93 (1%) to $94.1 per barrel.
The price of futures for WTI oil for October in the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $88.41 per barrel by this time, which is $0.07 (0.08%) lower than the final value of the previous session. By the close of the market the day before, the value of these contracts increased by $1.17 (1.3%) to $88.48 per barrel.
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday that it could start replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) only after fiscal year 2023, which begins on October 1. Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the US intends to start replenishing the SPR when oil prices fall below $80 per barrel. The Ministry of Energy noted that its plan for SPR does not provide for a trigger price that should provoke oil purchases.
Stock indices of the largest states of the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday change without a single dynamics.
The People’s Bank of China injected 400 billion yuan ($57.9 billion) into the financial system as part of the medium-term lending program (MLF). At the same time, the rate on loans for a period of one year, issued under the MLF, was maintained at the level of 2.75% per annum.
Analysts also did not expect a change in the rate, notes Trading Economics.
China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 1.2% by 8:29 qoq, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4%.
The shares of developers Country Garden Holdings Co. have risen most significantly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (+9.1%), Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. (+6.2%) and China Resources Land Ltd. (+5.9%).
In addition, quotes of insurer Ping An (+1.9%), oil CNOOC (+1.6%), Budweiser Brewing Co. APAC Ltd (+1.4%).
Meanwhile, shares of automakers Geely (-2.8%) and BYD (-1.7%) show a decrease in value.
The value of the Japanese index Nikkei 225 to 8:25 square meters increased by 0.2%.
Growth leaders include cosmetics company Shiseido (+2.1%), railway operator East Japan Railway (+2%), automotive Suzuki Motor (+1.8%) and Nissan Motor (+1.7%), manufacturer of game consoles Nintendo (+1.7%).
At the same time, the prices of papers of metal producers, including Toho Zinc Co., are falling. (-2.8%), Nippon Steel Corp. (-2.2%), Kobe Steel (-1.7%).
Japan increased exports in August by 22.1% compared to the same month last year. The rise was recorded following the results of the eighteenth month in a row.
Imports soared 49.9%, pushing the trade deficit to a record 2.817 trillion yen.
The value of the South Korean index Kospi to 8:25 q decreased by 0.3%.
Shares of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chips and consumer electronics Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.1%, while automaker Hyundai Motor added 0.25%.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% since the market open.
The market value of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto increased by 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. Oil companies Woodside Energy and Santos rose 4.4% and 3.5%.
Unemployment in Australia rose unexpectedly to 3.5% in August. A month earlier, it was at a record low of 3.4%, and analysts did not predict changes.
The increase in unemployment occurred for the first time in the last ten months.
The international rating agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded its global economic growth forecast for 2022 to 2.4% from 2.9% expected in June.
“The European gas crisis, high inflation and a sharp acceleration in the pace of tightening of monetary policy in the world entail serious consequences for the economic outlook,” the updated Global Economic Outlook (GEO) said.
The global GDP growth forecast for 2023 has been lowered to 1.7% from 2.7%.
The eurozone and UK economies will fall into recession as early as this year, while the US will face a mild recession in mid-2023, Fitch predicts.
Eurozone GDP, according to the agency’s new forecast, will decrease by 0.1% in 2023 due to the consequences of the gas crisis (in June, an increase of 2.1% was expected).
The new forecast takes into account the complete or almost complete cessation of pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Europe. Fitch experts note that, despite the EU’s attempts to find alternative sources of supply, the supply of gas in the region will be significantly reduced in the near term, which will affect the industrial sector.
The growth forecast for the US economy for the current year has been worsened to 1.7% from 2.9%, for 2023 – to 0.5% from 1.5%.
“The recovery of the Chinese economy is constrained by quarantine restrictions and a downturn in the real estate market, and therefore we expect China’s GDP to increase by 2.8% in 2022 and grow by 4.5% next year,” Fitch said in a review. In July, the growth of the Chinese economy was predicted by 3.7% and 5.3%, respectively.
High and persistent inflation and rising inflationary expectations are forcing the Federal Reserve (Fed), the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) to become more hawkish in recent months, Fitch said. The base interest rates of the world’s leading central banks are rising at a much faster rate than one might expect.
According to Fitch’s forecast, the Fed will raise the rate to 4% by the end of this year and keep it at this level throughout 2023, while the ECB will bring the lending rate to 2% by December of this year. The base rate of the Bank of England will reach 3.25% by February 2023, agency experts believe.
State-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) on September 14 terminated the powers of members of the Supervisory Board (SB) – representatives of the shareholder Denis Ulyutin and Andrey Svistun, who held them for a year and nine months and four months, respectively.
According to a message in the data disclosure system, director of U4 Ukraine Yana Bugrimova and ex-Minister of Social Policy Marina Lazebnaya have been appointed in their place.
JSB “Ukrgasbank” was founded in 1993. The state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, owns 94.94% of the shares of the financial institution.
According to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2022, Ukrgasbank ranked 5th (UAH 129.52 billion) among 69 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets.
